BRITAIN will be battered by the horrifying Storm Gareth on Tuesday and dramatic weather maps now show how the weather system will smash into the British Isles, bringing dangerous wind gusts and heavy rain.

Storm Gareth will smash into Britain on Tuesday - and terrifying weather maps shows the sheer size of the barreling storm. The third storm of the year could bring wind gusts of up to 70mph and the charts show Northern Ireland will be the first area to be battered by the severe weather conditions. The damaging winds could bring potential risks to lives and damage to buildings.

At the same time Storm Gareth approaches, a powerful jet stream bringing areas of low pressure could also see snow in some parts of the UK.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Dan Suri said: “Wintry showers will also continue for many tonight and the hills and mountains of Scotland and Northern Ireland could see a few cms of lying snow above 200 to 300 metres.

"Widespread icy patches will develop on untreated surfaces first thing Monday morning and could cause a few travel problems.

"Whilst the blustery, cold conditions are a contrast to the type of weather we saw at the end of February this is fairly typical for early March in the UK.”